Worlds Apart
by bluecatcinema
Summary: Soren has often wondered what would have happened if events had transpired differently, and he's about to find out...
1. Chance Encounter

**Worlds Apart**

**Chapter One: Chance Encounter**

Soren, barn owl and member of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole, was out for a quick afternoon flight, soaring over the eastern mountains. As he flew across the craggy outcrops, his mind wandered. He thought of how much his life had changed as of late, of how he had gone from being a fledgeling owlet to serving as a member of the legendary Guardians of Ga'Hoole. He also thought of how his brother Kludd had changed, first becoming a member of the evil Pure Ones, sworn enemies of the Guardians, and shortly afterwards ascending to become their new leader. Soren bitterly reflected on how Kludd had become seduced by the Pure Ones' rhetoric of the strong ruling the weak, and of tyto owls ruling over all. These thoughts had come to Soren repeatedly over time. Quite often, Soren found himself wondering what might have happened if events had transpired differently; If Kludd had somehow managed to resist the Pure Ones' pull, as he had done.

"Well, hello, brother." Came a voice from above, shaking Soren out of his reverie.

It was Kludd, his face-concealing helmet reflecting the light from the sun.

"Kludd." Soren said simply.

"Well, this is a surprise." Kludd smirked. "I hadn't expected to run into you here."

"I don't want to fight you, Kludd." Soren declared. "So you can just forget about settling your grudge with me today."

"My, aren't we full of ourselves?" Kludd said mockingly. "I have more important things to do right now then indulge in our little sibling rivalry." He hesitated for a moment. "But, Glaux damn me, I just can't resist a free shot."

Diving down like a bullet, Kludd lunged at Soren, who flew up to meet him. As their talons locked, Soren used Kludd's momentum to spin them around before releasing his talons, throwing Kludd across the sky. Undeterred, Kludd flew up into the clouds, seeking to hide his next attack from his brother. He might have succeeded, had he not flapped his wings so hard as he dived. Soren, reacting with lightning-fast reflexes, dodged Kludd's attack.

"Don't you remember what Da taught us?" Soren chided him. "You still make too much noise when you fly."

Seething with anger, Kludd charged Soren again, and the fight went on. While Kludd was bigger and stronger, Soren was more skilled and agile, enabling him to dodge most of his brother's attacks. As they locked talons again, Soren spotted a nearby tree with creepers hanging from it's branches. Spinning around again, he flung Kludd into the creepers, causing him to get tangled up.

"Raarrgh!" Snarled Kludd, struggling to free himself.

With Kludd detained, Soren decided to leave, fearing that more Pure Ones were nearby, in numbers enough to overwhelm him.

As he flew across the mountains, Soren saw something quite unusual: One of the mountains had a large crack in it, through which a bright white light was streaming through. Landing on a nearby cliff face to investigate, Soren saw something coming through the light. As the object passed through the crack and landed on the cliff, Soren could only stare in shock. It was an owl, one that looked very familiar to him. It was Kludd, but a Kludd without the helmet of Metalbeak (instead wearing what looked to be a Guardian's helmet), a Kludd without the disfiguring fire burns that covered his face, but most of all, it was a Kludd that appeared to be as shocked to see Soren as he was to see him.

"Soren?" He gaped.

"Kludd?" Soren gasped.

**To Be Continued...**

_(Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole and all associated characters are the property of Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow Pictures.)_


	2. Reflections

**World Apart**

**Chapter Two: Reflections**

Soren stared at the owl who appeared to be his brother like it was an apparition, while the other Kludd did the same.

"Kludd?" Soren inquired. "What... what are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing." The Kludd lookalike replied.

"And why are you wearing that helmet?" Asked Soren.

"Again, you took the words right out of my beak." Kludd grimaced. "I am a Guardian of Ga'Hoole, as you should well know."

"No, _I_ am a Guardian." Soren protested. "You are a member of the Pure Ones... or at least, you should be."

"What?" Kludd shook his head. "I don't understand any of this."

"Let's start from the beginning." Soren told him. "You come out of that shining crack. What's on the other side?"

"Here." Said Kludd. "Everything looks exactly the same, but different, almost like I've entered another world."

"And what are things like in... your world?" Soren asked, curiosity outweighing his confusion.

"Like I said before, where I come from, I am a Guardian." Kludd repeated. "And you, or at least, my world's version of you, has taken on the name Metalbeak, and become leader of the Pure Ones."

"I... what?" Gaped Soren.

Soren couldn't believe what he was hearing. And yet, there was something about this other Kludd that he couldn't help trusting. His eyes weren't at all like those of the Kludd he knew. Even before he joined the Pure Ones, Kludd's eyes were cold and hard. This Kludd's eyes sparkled with warmth and compassion, much like Soren's own.

"How did all that happen?" Soren asked.

"It all began when we fell out of our tree and were captured by the Pure Ones..." Kludd began.

The story Kludd told was much the same as Soren's own experiences, except that it was this other Soren who was seduced by the Pure Ones, and the other Kludd who went on to join the Guardians.

"...And today, I was ambushed by my brother." Kludd continued. "I briefly escaped him, and flew into the crack, hoping to hide and catch my breath. I certainly did not expect all this."

"This isn't exactly how I expected my day to go, either." Soren shrugged. "The question is, where do we go from here?"

"I don't know." Kludd shrugged back. "Part of me wants to stay and explore this new world. The other half wants to return home."

"That might be a good idea." Soren nodded. "The hole you came in from seems to be shrinking."

Soren was right. The shining crack in the mountain was retracting, as if it were a wound that was rapidly healing itself.

"You're right." Kludd looked at the receding crack. "The tear between our two worlds seems to be repairing itself. Perhaps I should-"

"Found some back-up, eh, Soren?" Called a voice from on high. It was Kludd, the Kludd Soren knew. He had managed to free himself from the creepers. As he descended on the two, he continued taunting them. "It won't do you any good, you... what?"

As he came closer, Kludd recognised the face of Soren's companion as his own.

"What trickery is this?" Kludd inquired fiercely. "Who are you?"

"I am you." The alternate Kludd said simply. "Another you, from another world."

"Complicated, isn't it?" Soren smirked drolly.

"I don't know what trick you're trying to pull, Soren, but it won't work!" Kludd snarled. "You shall both..."

Kludd stopped speaking, having been distracted by the intensified glowing from the crack. Another owl flew out of it, one who wore the helmet of Metalbeak, one whose eyes were as cold and cruel as the Kludd of Soren's world was. It was the Soren of the other world, who had managed to follow the other Kludd through the crack.

"Didn't count on me following you, did you, brother?" A colder, viler version of Soren's voice issued from the new arrival, to the shock of the three others. "This is where it ends!"

**To Be Continued...**

_(Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole and all associated characters are the property of Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow Pictures.)_


	3. When Worlds Collide

**Worlds Apart**

**Chapter Three: When Worlds Collide**

Kludd's patience, having already been pushed to the limit, snapped under the appearance of the other Soren.

"I've had enough of these ridiculous games!" He snarled. "Who are you?"

"I am Metalbeak." Declared the other Soren.

"No, _I_ am Metalbeak!" Snarled Kludd.

"What nonsense are you spouting?" The other Soren seethed.

"You've travelled to another world, brother." Said the other Kludd. "A world where our respective positions have been reversed."

"Oh, really?" The other Soren glared, moving closer to his counterpart. "So, this is me? I'd almost forgotten how handsome I was."

"You are nothing like me." Soren glared at his doppelganger. "You're as bad as my Kludd is."

"Is that so?" The other Soren sneered at his double, before turning to his own counterpart. "Do you believe, as I do, in the simple truth that tytos should rule the owl kingdoms?"

"Yes, I do." Smirked Kludd, realising what his counterpart was getting at.

"And that the Guardians are weak, idealistic fools?" The other Kludd pressed on.

"Of course." Kludd sneered with contempt.

"It occurs to me that we are more like brothers then with our own respective siblings." The other Soren noted.

"Indeed." Kludd nodded. "So what do we need them for?"

"Good point." The other Soren nodded back.

As one, they attacked Soren and the other Kludd. The two fought bravely, but found themselves overwhelmed. Dodging their foes' next attack, the two dived downward.

"This won't be easy." Soren noted. "My Kludd was always stronger then me."

"And my Soren was always faster then me." The other Kludd mused, before his face lit up with inspiration. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Definitely." Soren smirked.

As their brothers dived at them, the two stood (or rather, flapped) fast. Just as the twin Metalbeaks were about to strike, the two Guardians bellowed "Switch!", and traded opponants. This simple manoeuvre turned the tide. While both Soren and the other Kludd were aware of their limitations, their opposite numbers were too proud to admit them, even to themselves. Soren took advantage of the slight weakness in his double's left talon, striking it with his right. Meanwhile, the other Kludd took advantage of his counterpart's slow turning speed, striking him from behind, before he could retalite.

Before long, the two evil owls were starting to weaken under the heroic tytos' assault.

"Your pitiful attempts at tactical combat won't save you." Sneered Kludd.

"Not when we can just switch back!" Snarled the other Soren.

The two returned to fighting their original opponants, but the battle had taken it's toll; They were growing weaker by the moment. As their battle brought them near the glowing crack in the mountain, the other Kludd saw his chance; On his Soren's next lunge, he grabbed his talons and spun him around, throwing him right through the gap, and returning him to their world. As Kludd missed Soren on his next attack, he looked up and realised he was outnumbered.

"You can keep fighting if you want to, Kludd." Soren declared. "But I think you'll find the odds are against you."

Fuming, Kludd did the only he could; He retreated.

"Another day, Soren!" He called back spitefully as he flew away.

Soren and the other Kludd landed next to the rapidly receding crack.

"I suppose I really must be going now." Said the other Kludd. "Thanks, for everything."

"It's me who should be thanking you." Soren smiled.

"Why?" Asked the other Kludd, mystified.

"Because, thanks to you, I now know that somewhere out there, there's a Kludd who believes in honor and compassion." Soren placed his wing on the other Kludd's shoulder. "Just your being here gives me hope that someday my Kludd will come to believe in those same things too."

"I see." Smiled the other Kludd. "I suppose I could say the same about my Soren."

"I'm glad we met." Soren said simply.

"Me too." Grinned the other Kludd. "Goodbye... brother."

And with that, the other Kludd flew back into the crack, mere moments before it collapsed in on itself, leaving a bare rocky wall in its stead.

"Goodbye, brother." Soren whispered, before taking off into the sky.

**The End.**

_(Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole and all associated characters are the property of Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow Pictures.)_


End file.
